Zach Sobiech was a small-town boy living in Minnesota. At only 17, he learned that his bone cancer had spread throughout his body and was now terminal. With his fleeting time, Sobiech pursued his passion for music, creating a duo called A Firm Handshake with his best friend, Sammy Brown.

The Disney+ film Clouds follows the true story of Sobeich’s final months, as he pursues his dreams and ultimately writes the song Clouds, his goodbye to the world. The song ended up reaching number one on iTunes on the day of Sobiech’s funeral and a few days after the movie’s release.

The proceeds of Sobiech’s final song goes to his foundation, the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund. The foundation hopes to find a cure for the childhood cancer that took Sobiech’s life.

According to IMDB, Clouds has a 7.5/10 rating and has won the truly moving picture award from Heartland Film. Additionally, Clouds has received a 78% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. “I loved it. I thought it was really inspiring and enjoyed watching it with my friends,” junior Adalyn Gully said.

Director Justin Baldoni pursued the project because of his friendship with Sobiech. Baldoni also directed a Youtube documentary called My Last Days, which followed people with terminal diagnoses. The documentary is where Baldoni and Sobiech met. Baldoni and Sobiech grew a strong bond in the process of filming the documentary. “Just before he passed, I made a promise to him that I would do whatever I could to make sure the world heard his music,” Baldoni said.

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The movie begins with Sobiech performing at a school event where he showcases his immense talent and lighthearted and humorous personality. As the movie progresses, the audience learns of Sobiech’s fate. However, what truly sets the movie into motion is an assignment in one of his classes: write an essay for your college application. Knowing the possibility of him making it to college is slim, Sobiech walks out of the school. After an emotional conversation with his mom, the movie sets off on Sobiech’s career.

As the movie draws to an end, the audience sees Sobiech get progressively sicker until it is clear that his time is coming to an end. With his condition rapidly declining, Sobiech’s family, best friend and girlfriend decide to throw a party for him. However, it would not just be a party, it would combine everything he would miss into one: prom, graduation, and birthdays.

Arguably one of the most emotional scenes of the movie, Sobiech performs his song Clouds one last time. Due to the cancer being in his lung, Sobiech must stop halfway through the song, gasping for air and is unable to continue. Sobiech’s friends and loved ones finish singing the song for him. The movie fades out and ends with Sobiech’s mom finding his college essay assignment after his funeral.

With lighthearted moments and incredibly intense scenes, Clouds is a story about having hope amongst the darkest of times. I highly recommend Clouds to anyone looking to be reinspired and remember all that life has to offer.